The Best Thief in the World

For his first filmmaking effort without brother Josh Kornbluth by his side, Jacob Kornbluth followed up the duo's Haiku Tunnel by writing and directing this offbeat drama about a family struggling to cope with unexpected strife and the pitfalls of adolescence. The Best Thief in the World stars Mary-Louise Parker (Boys on the Side, Angels in America) as the family matriarch, a public-school English teacher whose husband has recently suffered a stroke, leaving her the household's lone breadwinner. Meanwhile, her oldest son Izzy is rebelliously acting out in response to the tumult at home and his own growing pains by breaking into apartments and rearranging the furniture. The Best Thief in the World screened in competition at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.